In a world that demands constant adaptation and innovation, CEOs are facing the challenge of balancing caution with the imperative need for technological transformation. As Marco Amitrano, Managing Partner and Head of Clients and Markets at PwC UK, rightly points out in PwC's 26th Annual CEO Survey, the convergence of talent and technology is the key to sustainable growth.
Let's delve deeper into this dynamic landscape and explore how CEOs can navigate it to drive business profitability and ensure long-term success.
The Imperative of Talent and Technology
People and technology play an indispensable role in driving business transformation. CEOs are not only recognising but doubling down on investments in these areas, understanding that transformation is not just a short-term strategy but essential for long-term growth. However, the scarcity of vital IT skills poses a significant challenge.
"CEOs are doubling down on investments in talent and technology because the need to transform their business for long-term growth is inescapable."
Marco Amitrano, Managing Partner and Head of Clients and Markets, PwC UK
As CEOs strategise to overcome talent scarcity, the shortage of the right IT skills becomes evident, hindering productivity and slowing down the pace of transformation. In response, CEOs are exploring alternative strategies, and one effective approach is forming strategic partnerships with external companies. CEOs cannot afford to hit pause on technology capabilities. They are turning to digital business partners for agile and scalable solutions, recognising the need to keep pace with technology advancements.
Strategic External Partnerships
Building, managing and maintaining an IT function that can deliver the required IT skills on-demand across multiple platforms is challenging with in-house talent alone. Organisations have to identify the talent, acquire them over the competition then ensure they retain them by keeping them happy and investing in their learning.
It's why CEOs are increasingly recognising the value of strategic external partnerships to access the technology capabilities required for rapid transformation. This approach not only provides a solution to the immediate identify, acquire, and retain talent challenge but also allows organisations to build blended, agile teams for long-term success. Collaboration with external partners ensures an on-demand flow of talent and expertise that becomes an extension of the internal IT team.
41% are investing more in external partnerships to get better access to tech capabilities
Source: PwC's 26th Annual CEO Survey
Cloud as a Catalyst
Cloud technology emerges as a catalyst in the quest for business transformation. It not only reduces costs and complexity in the present but also serves as the foundation for future digital transformations. Cloud solutions enable organisations to deliver new services and platforms rapidly, providing advanced analytics capabilities and fostering closer collaboration among teams.
In the pursuit of increased productivity and reduced IT costs, CEOs can leverage cloud solutions as a strategic tool. It not only addresses immediate concerns but positions organisations for future growth and innovation. As we navigate through this technological landscape, it becomes clear that embracing cloud technology is not just about cost reduction; it is about creating a flexible and resilient foundation for future business endeavours.
86% are investing in automating processes and systems
Source: PwC's 26th Annual CEO Survey
Balancing Caution with Innovation
While caution is crucial in any business strategy, intelligent risk-taking is equally important for agility and adaptability. In short, a balanced approach is needed. With the right blend of human insight, data, and analytics, organisations can not only navigate disruptions but also identify and capitalise on opportunities.
CEOs are urged to explore combinations of acquisition, collaboration, upskilling, recruitment, and retention to drive tech-powered change. This strategic approach not only positions organisations as innovators but also builds resilience in inevitable disruption. It is not merely about adopting technology for the sake of it; it's about strategic, well-informed decisions that lead to a competitive advantage and long-term success.
77% investing in deploying advanced technologies such as cloud and AI
Source: PwC's 26th Annual CEO Survey
Conclusion
The dynamic landscape of today’s businesses demands strategic thinking from CEOs. The integration of talent and technology is not just a necessity; it is an opportunity for organisations to thrive. By optimising IT environments, leveraging external partnerships, embracing cloud technology, and balancing caution with innovation, CEOs can lead their companies towards sustainable growth, increased productivity, and a competitive edge in the ever-evolving business landscape.
How Sify Can Help
Sify is ideally placed to help businesses build a sustainable, fully optimised cloud infrastructure that meets long-term business needs.
Sify offers deep expertise in all areas of cloud and IT infrastructure, combined with proven methodologies and frameworks to help analyse, design and optimise cloud environments.
Our proven experience and expertise have delivered for organisations seeking to optimise their cloud infrastructures, including reducing costs and ensuring resources are right sized, accelerating deployment time for new applications, improving alignment between business functions and helping firms integrate new cloud-based technologies such as AI or analytics.
The Key Challenges We Solve
With a heritage in IT Infrastructure, Sify has grown over two decades to provide a one-stop engagement across networks, data centre, cloud, digital and IT services.
Sify enables you to build an IT infrastructure that underpins business profitability, by delivering flexible expertise to fill IT skills gaps, and by deploying, managing and optimising complex hybrid environments to deliver the right combination of flexibility, security and affordability.
Here are the key challenges our Managed Services can help your organisation solve:
To find out more, book a call with one of our experts to discover how Sify can help your IT function optimise and transform their IT environment for sustained growth and success.